Concrete mixer or the like



Nov. 6, 1962 wAlMER 3,062,514

CONCRETE MIXER OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 16, 1.959 2 Sheets-Shoat 1 A 1 I 7 25 I -i\ ,7

w P2 I 15 6 2 INVNTOR ELerLar-cl Waine1- NOV-Q 1962 E. WAIMER 3,

CONCRETE MIXER OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-She 2 lNVEA/TOR Efigrkari Wau mel" United States Patent Claims priority, application Germany Sept. 25, 1958 7 Claims. (Cl. 259160) The present invention relates to a portable pan-type concrete mixer or the like which essentially consists of a panshaped mixing drum with revolving mixing blades therein, a feed hopper for charging the mixing drum, an elevator for raising and lowering the feed hopper, and a single motor for operating the mixer which is mounted at a point intermediate the mixing drum and the elevator on a frame supporting both of these elements.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile concrete mixer of a more simple and elficient design than previously known, in utilizing the space available within the confines of the mixer so as to render the entire machine as small and compact as possible and in arranging the individual parts of the machine so as to be more easily accessible and so as also to permit additionalopcrating means to be easily connected to the single power transmission to be driven thereby;

Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile pan-type concrete mixer which is,designed as a trailer with a very low center of' gravity which is located centrally of the machine and-thus permits the mixer to be more easily and safely-transportedalong a road by a truck or tractor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a concrete mixer of the above-mentioned type in which a plurality of cable winches are connected to the single power transmission of the machine to drive the different parts thereof, and in which these winches and the cables thereon are disposed so as not to interfere with each other and these cables are guided by the least number of pulleys.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention which will become further apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof are attained primarily by the fact that the space between the mixing drum and the feed hopper elevator is utilized to mount the single motor and gear transmission of the machine so that the motor will be disposed on the frame supporting the drum and elevator at one side of a vertical plane which is defined by the central axis of the mixing drum and the central longitudinal axis of the feed hopper elevator, while the fully enclosed gear transmission together with the connections for operating the difierent elements of the mixer are disposed at the other side of the mentioned vertical plane.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURE 1 shows a side view of the concrete mixer according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a plan view thereof, but without the feed hopper and the cover of the mixing drum;

FIGURE 3 shows a front view of the concrete mixer; while FIGURE 4 shows a plan view of a cable-operated hoist for elevating a charge of concrete to the place of use after being discharged from the mixer, the other elements of which are indicated in dot-and-dash lines.

Referring to the drawings, the concrete mixer according to the invention essentially consists of a pan-shaped mixing drum 1 with a fiap 18 in the bottom thereof for discharging its contents and provided with a plurality of mixing tools in the form of blades 2 which are adapted to revolve about a vertical axis A on a drive shaft 3 which projects downwardly from mixing drum 1 and carries on its lower end a driving gear 4. Mixing drum '1 is "ice mounted at one end of a frame 8 consisting of a pair of longitudinal beams 8 and a plurality of crossbeams 8". The other end of this frame 8 carries a pair of rails 7 of an elevator for raising and lowering a feed hopper 6. These guide rails 7 are adapted to be extended in the downward direction by additional rails 16. The space between mixing drum 1 and rails 7 contains a suitable motor 10 and a gear transmission 12 which are arranged side by side. Motor 10 and transmission 12 are connected to each other by a drive shaft 14 which carries a flywheel 19 and extends within a plane parallel to the plane formed by guide rails 7. A pair of shafts extending from transmission 12 at the side opposite to motor 10 respectively carry a cable drum 5 for operating the charging elevator by means of a cable 20, and a cable drum 11 with a cable 22 thereon running over pulleys 23 which are mounted on a cantilever frame 17 to operate a suitable scraper, not shown. Another shaft extending from gear transmission 12 carries a pinion 24 for driving a cable drum 9 which may be connected by a cable 21 to a hoist 25, only shown in part in FIGURE 4, for elevating a charge of concrete to the place of use after being discharged from mixing drum l through flap 18. Driving gear 4 is in mesh with a pinionon a universaljoint shaft 15 which is likewise connected to and driven by the gear transmission 12. The shafts of cable drums 5, 9, and 11 all extend within planes extending parallel to the plane formed by guide rails 7 and the path of travel of feed hopper 6. Aside from being secured to frame 8, rails 7 are also secured to and supported by mixing drum 1 by means of a receiving funnel 13 which at least partly covers the motor 10 and gear transmission 12.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the two sides of frame 8 extend along parallel planes which are vertically offset relative to each other about a substantially central point so that mixing drum 1 is disposed at a higher level than motor 1%) and gear transmission 12, and the universaljoint shaft 15 extends substantially horizontally between the inclined central parts 8a of frame 8.

As illustrated particularly in the plan view according to FIGURE 2, the entire concrete mixer is designed so as to be substantially symmetrical relative to the central vertical plane E extending in the longitudinal direction of the machine through the axis of mixing drum 1, while the different cables 20, 21, and 22 extend within different vertical planes so as not to interfere with each other. By utilizing the available space between mixing drum 1 and feed hopper elevator 7 to mount the motor 10 and gear transmission 12 with its driving connections side by side within this space, the new concrete mixer will be evenly balanced and its center of gravity will be disposed at a very low level and substantially centrally of the machine.

When the concrete mixer is set up for operation, a pair of jacks 26 are extended toward the ground so as to support the machine in a stationary position. These jacks 26 may be retracted when the machine is to be pulled along the pair of wheels 27 by a truck or tractor. At such a time, the two-wheel trailer forming or supporting the mixer will be off the ground substantially along the line GG shown in FIGURE 1 and may therefore also be 'easily moved along very uneven ground.

to revolve within said drum, a feed hopper for charging said drum, an elevator for actuating the feed hopper with the latter mounted on said frame and adjacent and in spaced relation to said drum to raise and lower the hopper relative to the drum, driving means mounted on said frame in the space between said drum and elevator and comprising a motor, a gear transmission connected to be operated by said motor, and power transmitting means with at least two power take off elements, one for operating the mixer connected to said gear transmission and including gear means connected to a drive shaft of the mixing blades and axially relatively to the drum and the second power take ofi for operating the elevator, said motor being disposed at one side of a vertical plane defined by the central axis of said drum and the central longitudinal axis of said elevator, and said gear transmission and power transmitting means being disposed at the other side of said vertical plane and said motor, the gear transmission and the power transmitting means being arranged in a triangular relationship relative to the horizontal plane with one side parallel to the elevator for the feed hopper.

2. A portable concrete mixer according to claim 1, in which the driving means includes a plurality of drums and drive shafts extending from the gear transmission for driving cables wherein said drums are provided within the outer periphery of the frame.

3. A concrete mixer as defined in claim 1, in which said driving means further comprise at least one cable drum connected to be operated by the gear transmission and a shaft extending from said gear transmission toward the outside of said mixer for driving said cable drum.

4. A concrete mixer as defined in claim 1, in, which said driving means further comprise at least one cable drum rotatably mounted on and disposed below said frame and smegma connected to be operated by the gear transmission, said cable drum connected to the feed hopper by a cable.

5. A concrete mixer as defined in claim 1, further comprising a covering member intermediate said mixing drum and said elevator and at least partly covering said motor and gear transmission, said covering member forming a filling trough for guiding a material from said feed hopper into said mixing drum.

6. A concrete mixer as defined in claim 1, in which said frame comprises a pair of longitudinal beams and a plural ity of crossbeams connecting the same, the two end portions of each of said longitudinal beams being vertically offset relative to each other and extending horizontally and parallel to each other, the higher end portion carrying said mixing drum and the lower end portion carrying said driving means.

7. A concrete mixer as defined in claim 6, further comprising -a shaft on said mixing drum for revolving said mixing blades within said drum, said end portions of said frame being offset relative to each other to such an extent that said driving means are connected to said shaft on said mixing drum and disposed substantially within the same horizontal plane as said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,437,337 Bonelli Nov. 28, 1922 2,597,688 Vought May 20, 1952 2,811,268 Kayser r Oct. 29, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 675,393 Great Britain July 9, 1952 874,819 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1961 547,574 Italy Sept. 8, 1956 

